Chief Bones
Forums Grumpy Old Man
The wording of the Appeal for Redress is short and simple. It is patriotic and respectful in tone. (Their words).
Appeal of Redress:
"As a patriotic American proud to serve the nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq . Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for U.S. troops to come home".
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My commentary:
So much for the troop's unreserved troop support of GW Bush's war. A Detroit Free Press article brings home the very real disconnect between what the administration has been saying active duty personnel are saying in public ... and ... what the active service members themselves have really been saying in private. So far 118 active duty members have signed an Appeal for Redress, that provides a way in which individual service members can appeal to their Congressional Representative and US Senators to urge an end to the U.S. military occupation. The Appeal messages will be delivered to members of Congress at the time of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in January 2007.
Even though An Appeal of Redress is legal, this is a petition that I CAN NOT support (active military or civilian). I consider this to be a clear violation of the oath they took at the time of their induction, and a clear break in the faith placed in them by all Americans. Even though I have spoken out AGAINST GW and his administration as a retired military man (and a civilian), these 118 individuals are wrong to take this action.
All of them are still on active duty under military discipline, and subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). An Appeal of Redress is supposed to be used to seek Redress for the actions of a Commander against an individual ... that is NOT the case here ... this is a petition against the government of the United States pure and simple, and is ill advised in my opinion. This is a military matter, NOT a civilian political excercise of political dissent.
HOWEVER -
For active duty military personnel to take this action (even though it is only 118 personnel at this time), it defines exactly what many of the people that are at the pointed end of the sword really think about GW's policies (or lack thereof).
GW lives in his own little world, and doesn't seem to want to listen to anyone who rocks his rowboat of state ... but ... this latest article isn't just a little ripple on GW's pond. For very junior military people to put their necks on the chopping block by signing a petition, points out the very real chasm that has opened up between military members and the administration over the Iraq policy. When the very people that must carry out the implementation of your policies oppose you ... just maybe you are holding a 'busted flush' and it's time for a new deck.
Even though I can NOT support these members with their petition, I can very easily understand the very real soul searching they must have gone through to have signed it ... and ... readily understand the (WHY? of it).
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INFORMATION:
Free Press article:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061025/NEWS07/610250340/1009
Petition site:
http://www.appealforredress.org/
THE RIGHT OF SERVICE MEMBERS TO COMPLAIN AND REQUEST REDRESS
Article 3.5.7 DOD Directive 1325.6 provides the right of service members to complain and request redress of grievances against actions of their commanders. (IMPORTANT NOTE: A redress is not to be confused with a petition. The action taken here by individual service members is an Appeal for Redress to End the War in Iraq.)
Appeal of Redress:
"As a patriotic American proud to serve the nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq . Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for U.S. troops to come home".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My commentary:
So much for the troop's unreserved troop support of GW Bush's war. A Detroit Free Press article brings home the very real disconnect between what the administration has been saying active duty personnel are saying in public ... and ... what the active service members themselves have really been saying in private. So far 118 active duty members have signed an Appeal for Redress, that provides a way in which individual service members can appeal to their Congressional Representative and US Senators to urge an end to the U.S. military occupation. The Appeal messages will be delivered to members of Congress at the time of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in January 2007.
Even though An Appeal of Redress is legal, this is a petition that I CAN NOT support (active military or civilian). I consider this to be a clear violation of the oath they took at the time of their induction, and a clear break in the faith placed in them by all Americans. Even though I have spoken out AGAINST GW and his administration as a retired military man (and a civilian), these 118 individuals are wrong to take this action.
All of them are still on active duty under military discipline, and subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). An Appeal of Redress is supposed to be used to seek Redress for the actions of a Commander against an individual ... that is NOT the case here ... this is a petition against the government of the United States pure and simple, and is ill advised in my opinion. This is a military matter, NOT a civilian political excercise of political dissent.
HOWEVER -
For active duty military personnel to take this action (even though it is only 118 personnel at this time), it defines exactly what many of the people that are at the pointed end of the sword really think about GW's policies (or lack thereof).
GW lives in his own little world, and doesn't seem to want to listen to anyone who rocks his rowboat of state ... but ... this latest article isn't just a little ripple on GW's pond. For very junior military people to put their necks on the chopping block by signing a petition, points out the very real chasm that has opened up between military members and the administration over the Iraq policy. When the very people that must carry out the implementation of your policies oppose you ... just maybe you are holding a 'busted flush' and it's time for a new deck.
Even though I can NOT support these members with their petition, I can very easily understand the very real soul searching they must have gone through to have signed it ... and ... readily understand the (WHY? of it).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
INFORMATION:
Free Press article:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061025/NEWS07/610250340/1009
Petition site:
http://www.appealforredress.org/
THE RIGHT OF SERVICE MEMBERS TO COMPLAIN AND REQUEST REDRESS
Article 3.5.7 DOD Directive 1325.6 provides the right of service members to complain and request redress of grievances against actions of their commanders. (IMPORTANT NOTE: A redress is not to be confused with a petition. The action taken here by individual service members is an Appeal for Redress to End the War in Iraq.)